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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23163214">spring had come, or so they thought</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/sincereously/pseuds/sincereously'>sincereously</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>A Dream of Spring Rare Pairs Week 2020 [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, F/M, Pre-Canon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 12:34:17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,234</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23163214</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/sincereously/pseuds/sincereously</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The season is changing, and Elia thinks her relationship with Ser Arthur needs to change as well.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Arthur Dayne/Elia Martell</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>A Dream of Spring Rare Pairs Week 2020 [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1665037</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>21</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>spring had come, or so they thought</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>For the A Dream of Spring Rare Pairs Week on Tumblr - day 1, false spring.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After over a year on Dragonstone, Elia had almost forgotten what warmth felt like. What little sunlight they received had to fight its way through the constant fog and thick winter clouds, and the scarce heat through the piercing winds that echoed through the gloomy rocks. It made Elia uneasy to live in a place where the sun touched so little.</p><p>Ashara had laughed when Elia told her that, had said that Elia herself would be all the sun that Dragonstone needed. Still, Elia found herself yearning for the days where the mists relented and the sun broke through. On days like this, she went out on the parapets, wearing gowns as thin as she dared and basking in the light.</p><p>It was on the parapet that Ser Arthur found her when he and Rhaegar returned from their trip to King’s Landing. Elia knew that they were coming home today, and really she knew that she should have been in the yard to formally welcome them, but this was the first time the sun had been truly shining in what felt like an eternity and she couldn’t quite bring herself to leave. So she waited there, her face tilted up to the sun and her arms spread wide to soak up the heat, when she heard a soft voice from behind her say, “My princess?”</p><p>It took Elia a moment to recognize him. While she could never find the same kind of heavy sun-drunkness at Dragonstone that she could in her days at the Water Gardens, she still felt a peace that reached all the way down to her bones and soothed the prickling anxieties in her mind. When Elia had turned around to see him, a part of her had almost expected the laughing boy who had dunked her in the pools more times than she could count, not the near-statue in white armor that he seemed to have become. She blinked a couple of times, pulling herself back to the present.   </p><p>“Well met, Ser Arthur. How was your journey?”</p><p>She kept a smile on her face while he spoke pleasantly about the calm seas and the fair weather, her mind beginning to whir. For this trip Elia had stayed at Dragonstone – for her still-shaky health, and because <em>she smells Dornish </em>still echoed in her ears too much to want another trip into that hellhole of a capital- but her husband had mentioned that he had matters to take care of. When she had asked <em>what </em>matters, he had smiled and kissed her hand, assuring her that he would talk with her when he returned.</p><p>Once, she might have gone directly to Arthur when that happened and asked him straight out what was happening. Now, she tried to mine each of his pleasantries for a deeper meaning and wondered how they had gone from sharing confidences under the blood orange trees to acting like they had barely even met.  </p><p>“Is everything all right?”</p><p>“Of course it is,” he said, but his smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Rhaegar was held up by the castellan, but he wants to meet us both in his chambers in an hour. The queen sends her warm wishes.” He hesitated a moment but seemed to rally himself. “And…and I have a gift for you.”</p><p>He reached into the pouch hanging at his side and pulled a small, tightly folded piece of paper. When he handed it to her, she noted that he was careful not to let their hands touch, and it sent a pang through her chest.</p><p>She unfolded the paper expecting a letter or a poem, but it was blank except for - “A jonquil?”</p><p>The yellow flower lay flat on the paper, and as she picked it up to examine it she saw Arthur peering at her just as closely. When she gently stroked a dried petal, Arthur’s face softened, and she felt her own heart lighten in response.</p><p>“I found it blooming at the corner of the keep,” Arthur said, and Elia thought he sounded more boyish than he had in ages. “I thought about digging it up and bringing it back for you in a pot, but I feared it wouldn’t survive the journey. So this seemed the next best thing.” His shoulders relaxed as he rambled on, but his hands remained tense at his sides.</p><p>“It’s beautiful,” Elia replied, smiling. She carefully refolded the paper and slid it into her pocket. “Does this mean that spring is finally here?”</p><p>“There’s been no raven from the Citadel yet, but I think so.” He grinned, and his smile seemed real now. “I <em>hope</em> so.”</p><p>“I’m glad.” A sharp breeze picked up, and she shivered.</p><p>Arthur’s brows furrowed. “Are you well?”</p><p>“I’m fine, Ser Arthur,” she said, coming to stand close by him. She only wanted to use his bulk as a windbreak (<em>no, that’s not just it</em>, she refused to think), but as she brushed his arm he took a step backwards and fixed his gaze somewhere past her shoulder.</p><p>Maybe the sun still had a hold of her mind, because before she could think better of it she said, “Are you afraid that I’ll bite?”</p><p>“My princess - ”</p><p>“<em>Arthur,” </em>she said, turning so that he had to meet her eyes. He could have looked above her or he could have turned and left, and the fact that he did neither gave her the courage to speak again. “This can’t last, what we’re doing.”</p><p>His face twisted. Elia couldn’t tell if it was in sorrow or anger, but in either case she was at least thankful that he wasn’t retreating to cold courtesy again. “It’s not what you think.”</p><p>“What should I think, then? You bring me flowers and flinch every time I’m near you.”</p><p>“We are not the people we were, Elia,” he said softly, and her heart clenched. How long had it been since he had said her name? “We have new roles to play. And I can’t be what I need to be now if I... if I still...”</p><p>“I know we can’t be who we were,” Elia replied. “But I don’t think what we are now is any better.” Tears pricked the corners of her eyes, but still she refused to look away.</p><p> His own eyes closed for a moment, and he shook his head. “I do not know what else I can be. Not right now. Not with things…”</p><p>She took a hesitant step closer. “What was Rhaegar planning in King’s Landing?” she asked, lowering her voice.</p><p>His eyes snapped open. “He didn’t tell you?”</p><p>“He tells me some things. Not enough.” <em>And others he tells me too much of, </em>she thought, remembering Rhaegar’s eyes shining as he watched a bleeding comet.</p><p>Arthur looked down at that, and Elia wondered what he was thinking when he lifted his head and spoke again. “I don’t know everything he plans. But I have to – I do believe that things have to change. Rhaegar has to change them. Rhaegar <em>will </em>change them.” Arthur held out his hands, palms up. “Elia. I can’t promise I’ll always have an answer for you. But I don’t want things to be like this either. And once things change, we can figure out what that answer is. Together.”</p><p>Elia placed her right hand into his, and it felt like a pledge. <em>Spring is here, and things will change. </em>“Together.”</p>
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